


Crimson Roses

by mostlovedgirl



Series: Writerversary 2020 [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Cheesecake, F/M, Forbidden Love, Human Plagg (Miraculous Ladybug), Human Tikki (Miraculous Ladybug), One Shot, Roses, Royalty AU, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:02:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26339947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mostlovedgirl/pseuds/mostlovedgirl
Summary: The princess knows in her head where her duty lies. She wishes her heart would agree.
Relationships: Plagg/Tikki (Miraculous Ladybug)
Series: Writerversary 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1896934
Comments: 31
Kudos: 87





	Crimson Roses

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SingingCupcake](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SingingCupcake/gifts).



> Prompt: "I've always loved you." Requested by SingingCupcake.
> 
> Special thanks to ChocoluckChipz (Totally_lucky), slow_and_steady, and TheNovelArtist for the beta read. ❤️

“For you.” He bowed as he offered the rose to his princess. The light from the torches burning on the pillars circling the open-air courtyard was absorbed by his messy, black hair and carelessly worn black uniform.

“Plagg,” Tikki groaned. “We’ve been over this.”

She brushed past him, proceeding toward her chambers to retire for the night. 

He caught her wrist, and she froze, refusing to look back at him, but also not pulling herself free of his gentle grasp. 

“Someone may see,” she warned quietly.

“What if I heard something?” he purred smoothly. “I wouldn’t be doing my job if I let you walk blindly into danger.”

He was standing behind her now, so close that she could feel his warmth radiating through her dress. Her skin tingled pleasantly where his hand remained on her wrist.

“Am I in danger?” she quipped back.

“Of course not. I’m here, aren’t I?”

“Then I bid you goodnight.”

He didn’t move, and neither did she, despite her words.

“How long are we going to keep doing this?” he whispered.

“Plagg…” She whined but tipped her head back to rest on his chest. 

The stars were so bright tonight, sparkling across the sky in their perfectly imperfect order—constant yet ever-changing in their annual march across the heavens.

“Run away with me,” he coaxed, not for the first time. His hand on her wrist slid down to entwine her fingers with his own. “We can leave tonight. I’ll take you beyond the borders of the kingdom before they knew we were gone. We could be free.”

“You know we can’t. I have responsibilities. We _both_ have responsibilities. I can’t turn my back on my people. They need me.”

“ _I_ need you,” he insisted, careful to keep his voice low so as to not attract attention from any wandering guards or servants. “And what about what _you_ need? You’re always giving to others. Think of yourself for once.”

She wrenched herself away from him before she lost the will to do so. The separation almost tore her apart. She was incomplete without him. 

Tikki’s skirt swirled around her legs as she spun to face him. Her cheeks puffed out and nose scrunched with the stubborn pout she fixed on her face. _“No, Plagg._ Please don’t ask me again. This needs to stop. I’m a princess. I have a duty to my kingdom. And you… If you can’t accept that, then—then I’ll get myself a new personal guard.” 

She crossed her arms and glared at him, her violet-blue eyes boring into his.

_‘Please don’t force my hand. Stay with me.’_

Plagg frowned at her for a long minute. She fought the urge to squirm under his acid-green gaze. Finally, he sauntered two long steps forward with a predatory grace that had always come naturally to him. They would be standing nose to nose if he wasn’t so much taller than her. 

“Now you listen to me, _Sugar Plum.”_ He knew she hated that nickname. “I have loved you since the day I met you. You may not feel the same about me, but I will burn in hell before I let another man stand by your side.”

Caught in the fire blazing in his eyes, Tikki barely felt Plagg lift her hand to his face. His warm breath ghosted over her knuckles, followed by the briefest touch of lips to the back of her hand, like a butterfly landing softly on her skin. She may have imagined the kiss, if not for the storm raging in her heart at the intimate touch.

He placed the crimson rose in her captured hand, curling her fingers around the smooth stem. He had taken the time to remove the thorns, just as he had with every flower he had given her since they were children. 

She blinked. Like waking from a dream, she found herself alone. Her guard had faded into the shadows like a wisp of smoke in the night. 

Tikki drifted to her room and bolted the door. She leaned against the polished wood, blinking back her tears.

_Damn him._

She pushed herself away from the door and over to her vanity. Sitting on the plush, upholstered stool, Tikki pulled her hair free of its confines and let the apple-red waves tumble over her shoulders. Sniffing, she dropped the jeweled combs in their box and slipped the slender stem of the rose into the waiting vase. Extending a finger to the full blossom, she delicately caressed the edge of a velvet petal.

“I’ve always loved you, too.”


End file.
